What was surprising was that he wasn’t surprised. If his eyebrows rose a millimeter or two, they only expressed amazement at her tone, which—she’d freely admit—smacked more of jealousy than outrage. If he channeled all the pyrotechnics of his blue eyes into hers, he was only trying to figure out whether she really cared. Sitting high on the brick wall, Iris exactly matched his height. She didn’t realize how unequal they were until now—older, taller, stronger, better educated, worldly-wise—why, Sasha had had every advantage, until this moment when she knew his secret.

“So you looked through my suitcase, did you?” he said, without rancor, and revelation arrived on Iris’s head like the dawn.

“You wanted me to see it, didn’t you? You left it there yesterday for me to find. Right there in plain sight, an open suitcase. That’s why you told me to stay behind today. You wanted me to see it was gone.”

He put his hand over her mouth.

“Before you say another word, I want you to know that I’ve never done a single thing—never passed along a single iota of information that would harm the United States.”

Iris nodded. He dropped his hand and pulled on the cigarette.

“The Soviets are being left in the cold, that’s all, because of ideological prejudice. Because the success of the Soviet system threatens the way we’ve always done things. The way that killed your father, Iris, the same way that corrupted mine. You know I’m right. I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.”

Iris slung her arms around his neck. “I don’t care about any of that. I don’t care about politics. I care about you. I want you to trust me. I don’t want you to keep any secrets from me. Whatever you’re doing, I know you’re doing it because you believe in it, and you’re trying to make the world a better place, and I love you for it. But I can’t stand it if you don’t trust me.”

“That’s why I left my suitcase open.”

“And that woman. She’s your—your—”

“Don’t worry about her.”

“But she’s Russian, isn’t she? She’s the one who—”

“I said, don’t worry about her. Anything personal between us—her and me—that’s finished. It’s just business now.”

“But you won’t tell me anything else about it.”

“I’ve told you all you need to know, all right? Because I thought I should be square with you, what I’m doing.”

She leaned her forehead against his. “Why?”

“It’s only fair. I could get into trouble or something. It’s only fair you know you’re jumping into hot water.”

“I already knew that.”

He breathed into her mouth and she breathed back into his.